There are two types of mechanical spreaders; broadcast spreaders and drop spreaders. Broadcast spreaders fling material out in front of the moving spreader while drop spreaders drop material straight down between the wheels of the spreader. If your spreader is not listed here, you can determine which setting to use by conducting this simple test:

Read the product’s label.

Measure the area to be covered (100m2, 1000 sq ft etc)

Weigh out enough of the product to cover (100 m2 or 1000 sq ft).

Set your spreader on a low setting and put the weighed amount of product in the spreader.

Spread the fertilizer over the measured area.

In ideal conditions, the product will be completely used to cover the measured area. In case of leftover, the spreader setting should be slightly increased. If the product amount quantity is insufficient to cover the measured area, the spreader setting should be slightly reduced.

When the correct amount of product and appropriate spreader settings has been achieved, the settings should be recorded for future reference.